13.5.08
Watchman Report 5/13/08
Jerusalem's 'Call' Heard Around the Globe
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/373664.aspx
CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - For the first time, TheCall and the Global Day of Prayer teamed up in Jerusalem for an event that was seen around the world.
The Jerusalem's TheCall began with repentance and the tearing down of walls between Jew and Gentile believers.
A Time of Repentance and Fellowship
"When Jesus walked here 2,000 years ago, Pilot said, 'Behold here is your king and the people said, - no we don't have a king, but Caesar.' We rejected Yeshua as king, and we have to say, as Israeli Believers - we repent of that because we want to welcome Him as our messiah, as our Lord," said Avi Mizrachi, pastor of Adonai Roi Congregation.
Likewise, Gentile leaders repented for not fully appreciating their Jewish roots.
"We're but branches grafted in," Lou Engle said. "There's a depth here in Jerusalem and among these people that I never honored. And I believe, part of the key to the great awakening at the end of the age is the honoring of the root."
Thanks to God TV, millions of believers around the world are joining believers here in Jerusalem to pray not only for worldwide revival, but that the Jews here in Israel, will come to know Jesus - Yeshua - as their Messiah.
"I think everything's accelerating- we who live here in the land, we feel it - we're on the front line of the battle -- it really is ultimately a battle for the return of the Lord, because Jesus will not return until His people say Baruch habba B'shem Adonai…Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord," Jewish believer Karen Davis said.
Praying for the Nations
Global Day of Prayer Founder Graham Power said never before have so many believers been able to join together to pray for the nations.
"It's amazing to think that today, 214 out of 220 nations are praying together over an 18 hour span," he said.
We're literally in at least a measure of the fulfillment where millions, maybe hundreds of millions are turning their hearts, praying in Jerusalem. The world is living in a day of fulfillment of prophecy - meaning perhaps that the Messiah is coming soon.
Pro-Lifers: Let's Picket NEA Teacher Convention in Washington, DC & NEA HQs in State Capitals July 2
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07172.shtml
WASHINGTON, (christiansunite.com) -- "Pro-Life activists, teachers, school employees, students, parents, and clergy are invited to come pray and peacefully picket the National Education Association's convention at the Washington Convention Center, July 2nd between 10:00AM and 2:00PM," announces Pro-Life Educators and Students (PLEAS) Coordinator, Bob Pawson. "Especially pro- lifers from DC, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Activate your groups. Bring your families, friends and pro-life signs and banners. Hundreds of citizens publicly admonishing NEA's leaders would create excellent media reportage and inspire the Pro-Life Movement nationwide. Let's go!"
Hillary Clinton and/or Barack Obama will surely address NEA's 9,000 Delegates, as they did last year; especially the eventual Democratic nominee. NEA- PAC may vote for and announce NEA's endorsement during the convention. Late-term abortionist George Tiller spoke at NEA headquarters for the Feminist Majority Foundation's Leadership Conference in March 2008.
METRO Yellow and Green Lines provide convenient transportation to 'Mt. Vernon Sq/7th Street & Convention Center' station. www.dcconvention.com/directions.aspx
Pro-life groups and activists across America are urged to organize lunch-hour pickets at NEA State Affiliate HQs in all fifty states July 2nd. Most prolife groups have school employees in their ranks, including NEA members, to alert and activate.
"Please unite in a high-profile rebuke of the leadership of America's largest, socio-politically meddlesome union for misrepresenting so many teachers on abortion. Seize this opportunity to focus nationwide attention and condemnation upon the pro- abortion activism of arrogant educrats disingenuously pretending to protect children and teachers' jobs."
"A pro-abortion position isn't just morally outrageous; it's stupid; economic suicide. Twenty-five abortions equal one lost classroom, lost teaching careers, and catastrophic losses to America's future," said Pawson, an NEA-NJEA teacher in Trenton.
"We teachers love children. Most are pro-life. It's unacceptable for union representatives to condone or promote killing babies, future students, in their mothers' wombs. We resent having our dues used to subvert our moral, social, and political values while creating artificial divisions among the rank-and-file. NEA must repeal Family Planning Resolution I-15 and similar policies to respect the diversity of 3.2 million members."
To recruit picketers, PLEAS is contacting pro-life organizations across America, including over fifty headquartered in the greater DC area.
Groups and individuals committed to picketing NEA should e-mail: BobPawson@bringyourbible.com.
Bring traditional pro-life signs & messages like:
PRO-LIFE NEA MEMBER PRO-LIFE TEACHER PRO- LIFE STUDENT
REPEAL NEA RES I-15 MAKE NEA ABORTION- NEUTRAL
PRO-LIFE PARENT FORMER FETUS / CURRENT STUDENT
ABORTION=FEWER STUDENTS
ABORTION=UNEMPLOYED TEACHERS
25 ABORTIONS=1 LOST CLASS
www.CogicCommunity.com Announces: Church Of God In Christ (COGIC) Community
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07171.shtml
MEDIA ADVISORY, (christiansunite.com) -- COGIC members are logging on everyday from around the world, CogicCommunity.com is sure to become the biggest online community for Church Of God In Christ (COGIC) members.
'CogicCommunity.com is a community of real people, talking about real issues' says web owner. With members joining for free from around the world, you can believe there is a great deal of networking and praying going on here. The Church Of God In Christ (COGIC) has many things going on this year and a lot of people who have questions. Who can answer your questions better than someone who's involved? The answer is probably no one. That's why the CogicCommunity.com website was developed, to give members a place to congregate online.
The Church Of God In Christ (COGIC) is the world's largest African-American Pentecostal denomination with headquarters in Memphis, Tenn., which is where the Holy Convocation is held every year. The Church Of God In Christ is also the fourth-largest Protestant religious denomination in the United States. With saying this, it is surprising that a central web community www.CogicCommunity.com has recently become available, where members of the Church Of God In Christ can gather, pray, chat, share photos, videos, music and more.
CogicCommunity.com is a free and healthy alternative to other well known communities online but geared toward a specific audience. CogicCommunity.com or MyCogic.com has been around since the end of December 2007 and is steady growing without heavy advertising. Many of the members take advantage of creating their own page, posting videos or music and some just like to view what others post or have written. So what's the big deal? Well, for starters it's a place online where the members have a common interest. Also, it's the best way to communicate and meet other great COGIC members from across the country. This is truly remarkable and you would have to see it for yourself, and you can do so by getting on your nearest Internet connection and going to: www.CogicCommunity.com or www.MyCogic.com.
About www.CogicCommunity.com:
COGIC Community (CogicCommunity.com) exists in order to give Church Of God In Christ members a place to network and be comfortable online, knowing that their community is constantly being monitored for spam.
COGIC headquarters are located at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. Bishop Charles E. Blake is Presiding Bishop. Visit www.CogicCommunity.com for more information on COGIC Community
C. S. Lewis Society to Host Luncheon and Private Screening of 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,' with Special Presentation by C. S. Lewis Scholar Michael Ward
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07170.shtml
OAKLAND, Calif., (christiansunite.com) -- A private screening of C.S. Lewis's "Prince Caspian," the second, epic film in the beloved "Chronicles of Narnia" series, will be held Saturday, May 17th, the day after the film's release. Sponsored by the C. S. Lewis Society of California this event will be held beginning late morning at the Metreon in San Francisco.
The first Narnia film, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," grossed $740 million at the box office, and sales of Lewis's Narniad are over 100 million copies.
This program will also include a presentation by Dr. Michael Ward, Chaplain of Peterhouse at Cambridge University and author of the acclaimed, landmark book, "Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis" (Oxford, 2008), plus a luncheon in Jillian's (in the Metreon) with Dr. Ward after the screening. Dr. Ward's book is revolutionizing interest in Lewis and the Narnia series by revealing a profound, but heretofore unknown, literary secret embedded in the books, and a stunning level of intricacy and sophistication by Lewis.
Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, the new film vividly brings to life "Prince Caspian," as the Pevensie children are transported back from England to the world of Narnia, where a thrilling and perilous adventure and greater test of their faith and courage await them. One year (1,300 years in Narnian time) after the first film, Narnia has been conquered and is controlled by the tyrannical King Miraz. The four children meet the young Prince Caspian, who is in hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him. The Narnians embark on a remarkable journey to find the divine Aslan, and restore liberty and justice to the land.
Directed by veteran director Andrew Adamson, this highly imaginative film reunites the original cast and creative team behind the Academy Award-winning first film in the series.
The C.S. Lewis Society of California is an educational and cultural organization interested in events, publications, and other developments that advance deeper understanding of the enduring philosophical, cultural, historical, literary, theological, social, and economic issues of mankind.
With limited seating, tickets are available at $25/person ($20 for Lewis Society Members) or $50 Special Admission includes one autographed copy of "Planet Narnia" (25% discount). Registration begins at 10:00 a.m. and the program at 10:30.
For reservations, phone 510-635-6892, fax 510-568-6040, or go to lewissociety.org/caspian_event.php
Chavez Says Colombia's Uribe Trying to Spark War
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Chavez_uribe_war/2008/05/12/95297.html
CARACAS -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday accused Colombia of seeking to provoke war, renewing regional tensions after a Colombian attack on a rebel camp in Ecuador sparked the worst Andes diplomatic crisis in a decade.
The accusations could aggravate an Andean region schism between anti-U.S. leftists governments in Ecuador and Venezuela and rightist Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a Washington ally whose country has received billions of dollars in U.S. aid.
Chavez's statements come just days after U.S. officials renewed accusations that Chavez has aided Marxist rebels, based on files from the laptop computer of a slain rebel commander.
"The government of Colombia is capable of provoking a war with Venezuela to justify the intervention of the United States," said Chavez, lambasting Uribe during his weekly Sunday broadcast as "liar" and leader of a "narco-government."
In March Colombia attacked a rebel camp in Ecuador, killing rebel commander Raul Reyes and sparking a regional diplomatic crisis as Ecuador and Venezuela moved troops to their border with Colombia.
Latin American leaders negotiated an end to the crisis, but Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has maintained a bitter war of words with Colombia and has not fully restored ties.
Unnamed U.S. officials last week told various media that they determined Chavez's ties to the rebel group were more extensive than they originally thought after reviewing unpublished files on the computer of Reyes.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the files indicate Venezuela offered to arm the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and sought guerrilla warfare training, possibly to prepare for an invasion Chavez says Washington is plotting.
Chavez on Sunday dismissed the charges, calling Colombian officials "imbeciles" incapable of producing any serious evidence against him.
"Whatever they want they will find -- it's ridiculous," Chavez said.
Colombia's government had previously released files from the laptop that they said proved Chavez's links to the FARC.
Critics said the e-mails -- filled with FARC military jargon -- were often ambiguous and did not provide conclusive evidence of any collaboration.
Google Bans Religious Ads, Faces Court
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/373687.aspx
CBNNews.com - A Christian group in the United Kingdom is taking Google to court for blocking a pro-life advertisement, earlier this year.
In March, the search engine goliath refused to deploy a pro-life ad for The Christian Institute because of the religious content of the ad. The UK group is a nondenominational Christian charity.
The draft ad in question stated, "UK abortion law: Key news and views on abortion law from The Christian Institute. www.christian.org.uk."
The Institute's attorneys argue that Google unlawfully discriminated against them by blocking the ad. The Equality Act 2006 prohibits religious discrimination when providing goods or services.
Institute leaders say they are being treated differently because of their religious beliefs.
"Google promotes itself as a company committed to the ideals of free speech and the free exchange of ideas. It is against this standard that Google's anti-religious policy is so unjust," said Colin Hart, director of The Christian Institute.
According to an e-mail Google sent to the group, the ad was banned for "unacceptable content." But Google does allows advertisements for non-religious sites, including those with views on abortion. It also allows ads for pornographic sites -- as long as the sex is consensual and does not involve children or animals.
"If there is to be a free exchange of ideas, then Google cannot give special free speech rights to secular groups whilst censoring religious views," Hart said. "To describe abortion and religion-related content as 'unacceptable content', while at the same time advertising pornography, is ridiculous."
Google's Web site clearly states: "Google was founded with a clear vision in mind: To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
But attorneys for the UK group say the Internet giant will not allow ads for Web sites which contain "abortion and religious-related content."
In response, the Institute's attorney's have asked Google to change its policy or face legal action.
Google is the number one search engine in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and Australia, with over 80 million unique users per month.
Christians to pray for Embryology Bill defeat
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.to.pray.for.embryology.bill.defeat/18722.htm
Christians of all denominations gathered outside Parliament on Monday to pray that MPs vote against the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill when it faces its second reading in the House of Commons.
MPs are expected to vote in favour of sending the controversial HFE Bill to committee stages.
The prayer vigil was hosted by Christian Concern for our Nation in the hope of a miracle similar to that which occurred exactly two years ago to the day, when Lord Joffe’s Bill to legalise euthanasia was defeated at second reading stage.
“With faith and humility we must come together to pray for a great miracle,” said CCFON. “Monday, 12th May is the day after Pentecost and exactly 2 years since the miraculous defeat at second reading of the Joffe Bill which would have legalised euthanasia in this country.
“We would like Christians everywhere to come in their hundreds and stand outside Parliament and pray for this miracle; pray that MPs will vote against the principle of the Bill.
“If such a vote is won then the Bill will be defeated right from the outset.”
The Bill proposes a number of changes to the current law on the early stages of human life, including the legalisation of research using hybrid embryos – embryos created by combining human DNA and animal cells – and the removal of any reference to “the need for a father” for children born as a result of fertility treatment.
If the Bill is sent to the committee stage, MPs will begin to debate the ethics behind hybrid embryos, stem cell creation, and “saviour siblings” in the coming weeks, as well as vote on a number of amendments, including one to lower the legal abortion limit to 16 or 18 weeks from 24 weeks.
Scientists in favour of the Bill argue that hybrid embryos will solve the current shortfall of embryos that they need to make stem cells for research into cures for conditions such as motor neurone disease or Parkinson’s.
Opponents, however, argue that such research strikes at the core of what it means to be a human being, ignores public opinion on the issue, and is unnecessary in light of ethical alternatives such as adult stem cells and umbilical cord blood stem cells.
Labour MPs have been given a free vote on the parts of the Bill pertaining to hybrid embryos, saviour siblings and the need for a father for IVF children, after Prime Minister Gordon Brown came under huge pressure from Christians, particularly the Catholic Church, to allow Labour MPs to vote according to their conscience.
Scientists at Newcastle University announced earlier this year that it had created the first hybrid embryo in Britain, after the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) granted the team a licence in January.
EU on track for Russia talks
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/eu.on.track.for.russia.talks/18712.htm
The European Union looks likely to launch talks with Russia next month on a new partnership deal after Lithuania on Sunday dropped its veto on negotiations starting.
Lithuania had blocked agreement on a mandate for the talks, which the EU hopes to launch at a June 26-27 summit in Siberia, as it wanted the mandate to include several topics, including a resumption of crude oil supplies cut by Russia in 2006.
The Baltic state dropped its veto after talks in Vilnius with Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.
"I have to state that the EU is united today ... All Lithuanian concerns were taken into account in principle, in written (form)," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas told a news conference after the talks.
He said he hoped the mandate for the talks with Russia, which will be conducted by the European Commission, would be approved at a EU foreign ministers' meeting later this month.
He added that a successful end to the talks with Russia on a new pact, covering trade and political partnership, would be related to success in the resumption of oil supplies and the solution of the frozen conflicts in Moldova and Georgia.
These were two of the issues Lithuania wanted in the mandate. It also wanted Russian cooperation in criminal investigations and compensations for Lithuanians deported to Siberia by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
Rupel said the agreement in Vilnius showed EU states could work together, even though there were 27 of them.
"I think Lithuania's vital interests have been taken into account and we should all be happy about it," he added.
In a statement released in Ljubljana, he also said the draft mandate included the frozen conflicts and integrity of Georgia and Moldova and effective cooperation with Russia on judicial and energy issues.
The Polish and Swedish foreign ministers were also in Vilnius on Sunday and were expected to travel to Georgia early on Monday with their Lithuanian and Slovenian colleagues.
The EU and NATO said last week that Russia had fuelled tensions by deploying extra troops in Abkhazia, which broke from Tbilisi in a war after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Georgia says Russia's move to send more troops there risks sparking an all-out conflict. Russia has said its troop build-up is needed to counter what it says are Georgian plans to attack Abkhazia. It has accused Tbilisi of trying to suck the West into a war, allegations Georgia rejects.
Solana: ‘Israel will always be a key strategic partner for the EU’
http://www.ejpress.org/article/26926
BRUSSELS (EJP)---The EU’s foreign policy chief said that "Israel is and will always be a key strategic partner for the European Union."
In an interview with the European Jewish Press, Javier Solana stressed that this week’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the State of Israel "marks the realization of an old dream that was inspired by European ideas and thinkers from Europe."
"I express my warmest congratulations to the Israeli leaders and the people of Israel on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the State of Israel. This landmark anniversary honours the ideals of the fathers of your nation," Javier Solana said in the interview with EJP.
Underlining the importance that the European Union attaches to its relations with Israel, Solana added: "I am well aware of the traditional links, the cultural and human values, and the economic and security interests that Europe shares with Israel."
Israel and the European Community first established contractual relations in 1975 by signing a cooperation agreement.
Then on the basis of the 1994 Essen EU Council conclusions, which gave Israel privileged status vis-à-vis the EU, the EU concluded an Association Agreement and developed relations even further in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.
The ‘Action Plan’ signed in 2005 in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) takes this process still further by setting out in more detail a comprehensive set of jointly developed priorities.
"All this clearly presents a concrete opportunity to continue our ongoing dialogue and also to seek ways to further improve our bilateral relations," Solana said.
The EU diplomat, who made several trips to the Middle East in the last months, also stressed that Israel and the Palestinians should not lose sight of the importance of reaching a peace agreement by the end of 2008.
"Negotiations on final status issues are taking place for the first time since the year 2000. In Annapolis, in November last year, Israel and the Palestinian committed to reach an agreement by the end of 2008. We knew that reaching this goal would not be easy, but negotiations are intensive and are continuing despite all the obstacles."
He added:"Israel and the Palestinians should not lose sight of the importance of this and do all the necessary efforts, with the support of the EU and the international community to make this ambitious goal a reality."
"This remains a historic opportunity for peace, it should not be wasted," Solana added.
Rice: Secret Talks Must Show Progress
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/373574.aspx
CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Israelis and Palestinians need to show that secret negotiations are progressing.
Rice is particularly interested in publicizing final borders for a future Palestinian state, which she believes is the easiest issue to resolve. She suggested drawing up a final map, which would pave the way to resolving other issues.
"There are realities for both sides, which is why they need to draw a map and get it done," Rice told the press.
The secretary of state's demand for a "memorandum of agreement" before US President George W. Bush's arrival Wednesday was rejected by both sides.
With Olmert embroiled in another police investigation and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas having made little progress in reigning in terror groups, both are perceived as weak leaders.
"Some progress is still possible," the secretary of state said before she left Israel last week.
Bush Heads to Mideast Amid Dark Omens
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/bush_mideast_trip/2008/05/11/95186.html
US President George W. Bush heads back to the Middle East this week, where his efforts to forge Israeli-Palestinian peace face growing skepticism with barely nine months left in his term.
The five-day trip is anchored on the 60th anniversary of Israel as a modern state, a stop in Saudi Arabia to mark 75 years of US relations with the kingdom, and talks in Egypt with a broad range of regional leaders.
The visit is Bush's second in four months -- after seven years in which he did not set foot in either Israel or the Palestinian territories -- and Bush aides see it as a blend of symbol and substance.
"It's going to be a mix," said US national security adviser Stephen Hadley.
The White House has taken care not to raise expectations, perhaps not only because of the lack of significant progress over the past few months, but because of the turmoil in Israel over the past few days.
Bush was due to meet Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who faces mounting calls to resign over a criminal probe into allegations he took bribes from a millionaire US financier.
After months of highlighting what it called good relations between Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, Washington now describes peace efforts as the principally the work of two governments.
Olmert, a political survivor, has not been charged, but his legal woes could make it more difficult to convince Israelis to make the tough concessions all sides agree will be needed to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.
"It is an Israeli domestic matter. We don't want to poke our nose into it, but we fear this crisis will reflect in terms of military escalation or more building in the settlements," said lead Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat.
And "in case of early elections, the peace process will be put on hold," he added.
Olmert and Abbas agreed in November, at a US-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland, to revive stalled peace efforts with an eye on reaching a deal on the outlines of a Palestinian state by year's end.
Since that optimistic pledge, however, causes for skepticism have piled up.
Israel has announced plans to pursue construction in Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian lands -- a core dispute. And the United States has said that its ally has not done enough to improve Palestinian quality of life.
Another major obstacle is Hamas's control of the Gaza Strip, launch site for frequent rocket or mortar attacks on Israel, which the Palestinian militant group does not recognize.
Bush, who visited the Abbas-controlled West Bank in January, has no plans to visit the Palestinian territories this time, nor to hold a joint summit with Olmert and Abbas -- though he will see the Palestinian leader in Egypt May 17.
"At this point, we think the bilateral negotiations are key. We can be encouraging those negotiations to go forward. A lot of it is better done, quite frankly, in private than in public," said Hadley.
The US president, often accused of ducking the peace effort to focus on the war in Iraq, could face Arab criticism for focusing his trip so much on Israel, where he will address the Knesset, the country's parliament.
"It's hard to remember a less auspicious time to pursue Arab-Israeli peacemaking than right now. The politics on the ground are absolutely miserable," says Middle East expert Jon Alterman.
Bush faces another crisis in Lebanon, where Israel foe Hezbollah -- the two fought a war in 2006 -- has led in recent days an armed campaign against forces loyal to the pro-Western government.
The volatile situation in war-torn Iraq, Iran's growing confidence, and Syria's defiance -- experts see many of these as signs of diminished US clout in the region, even as sky-high gasoline prices hurt US pocketbooks.
On May 16, Bush visits Saudi Arabia, which he hopes will help push the peace process but also play a larger role in stabilizing Iraq. He was also to express US concerns about the dramatic rise in oil prices.
Israeli Police Raid Jerusalem City Hall in Corruption Probe of Prime Minister Olmert
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355105,00.html
JERUSALEM — Israeli police raided Jerusalem's City Hall on Monday, searching offices and confiscating documents as part of a widening corruption inquiry against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Olmert is suspected of illicitly accepting large sums of cash from a Jewish American donor. Some of the donations are believed to have taken place during Olmert's 10-year tenure as mayor of Jerusalem.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the police's anti-fraud team conducted the raid. He said the seized documents were connected to Olmert time as mayor between 1993 and 2003, but had no further details on their contents.
The investigation has cast a shadow over Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations and embarrassed the prime minister at a time when he should be enjoying the limelight. President Bush arrives this week to take part in the national celebrations.
Olmert's legal troubles have also raised doubts about his ability to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians. With U.S. backing, Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have set a year-end target for a peace agreement meant to end six decades of conflict. During his visit, Bush is expected to take stock of the talks and push for more progress.
The scandal has set off speculation that Olmert may not be able to remain in office long enough to complete the negotiations. Olmert, who denies wrongdoing, has said he would resign if he is indicted, and even if he hangs on to power, he may not be strong enough politically to win support for a peace deal.
A poll Monday said six of 10 Israelis think Olmert is not capable of promoting peace with the Palestinians because of the investigation. Sixty percent of those polled also said they don't believe Olmert's claim that he didn't funnel money into his own pocket. The survey had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
The poll was the first since police disclosed last week that they are investigating suspicions that Olmert illicitly took envelopes stuffed with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from Morris Talansky. Police were questioning the Long Island, N.Y., businessman Monday.
An Israeli police official said investigators are looking into many allegations against Olmert, including possible money laundering, accepting bribes and campaign finance violations. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing, said the case is looking at a 12-year period.
The Justice Ministry has been deliberately vague on what laws the Israeli leader might have broken because the probe — expected to take months — is at an early stage, a ministry official said.
Since becoming prime minister, Olmert has been a suspect in several corruption affairs involving real estate deals and questionable political appointments. He has been questioned several times in the past by police but has never been charged. Some of the investigations remain pending.
In an interview broadcast Sunday on Channel 10 TV, Talansky denied trying to bribe Olmert.
"I never thought in any way that the money that I gave him for the purpose of his becoming mayor or electioneering was in any way illegal or wrong," he said.
Israel leaning toward Gaza cease-fire
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1209627062646&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
An elderly woman was killed by a Kassam rocket that scored a direct hit on a western Negev community Monday evening, hours after Israeli leaders said they were leaning toward accepting an Egyptian cease-fire deal with Hamas.
Shlomit Katz, 75 of Kibbutz Gvar'am, was killed while visiting Moshav Yesha in the Eshkol Regional Council. The deadly attack came four days after a mortar shell barrage killed Jimmy Kedoshim, 48, a father of four, as he stood in the yard of his house in Kibbutz Kfar Aza in the Negev.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, after which certain defense officials warned against accepting the Egyptian-proposed cease-fire with Hamas and called for a military response to the continued rocket fire. A half-dozen rockets fell in the western Negev area Monday, including one that landed in Ashkelon.
Despite the escalation in violence, officials close to Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel was leaning toward accepting Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman's truce offer, which was presented to the defense minister during a breakfast meeting at Barak's Tel Aviv home earlier in the day. Israel plans to first gradually accept the offer and later turn it into a full-fledged cease-fire following Gilad Schalit's release.
Defense officials said that if the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire did not last, Israel would most likely embark on a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip against Hamas.
"If the ceasefire doesn't work, our alternative to stopping Hamas's attacks is by invading Gaza," a senior official said.
During their meetings with Suleiman, both Barak and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stressed the cease-fire needed to include the release of Schalit as well as an end to all forms of attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip and a cessation of Hamas's arms build-up there. Suleiman told Barak that the acceptance of the deal would not bring Schalit's immediate release, but would expedite the process.
Barak also stressed that Israel would not continue to restrain itself from responding to the continuous missile fire from the Gaza Strip, and that Israel would be forced to take more stringent military steps if the attacks did not stop.
The defense minister also told Suleiman that Israel would demand assurances from Egypt that it would increase its efforts to curb weapons smuggling under the Philadelphi Corridor. Suleiman said that Egypt was making more efforts and hoped to receive US-made tunnel-detection systems in the coming weeks to add to those efforts.
Suleiman, according to officials in the Prime Minister's Office, said he would take those conditions back, discuss them with Hamas, and return with an answer. No time frame, however, was given. The officials said that Suleiman, who has been trying to broker a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip for weeks, did not come with any new proposal.
Olmert and Suleiman met for some 90 minutes in discussions that Olmert's office characterized as "good." The first stage of the deal calls for a cessation of IDF action, Hamas terror activity as well as the opening of the Israeli crossings into Gaza. At a later stage, the Rafah crossing is slated to be opened.
Sources in Olmert's office said that three weeks ago Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak scheduled a meeting in Sharm e-Sheikh sometime after the World Economic Forum meeting there this weekend. It is widely expected that when the two do meet, it would be to finalize the agreement. So far no date has been set.
Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev, meanwhile, denied that Suleiman's shuttle between meetings with Israeli officials and that Hamas officials represented an indirect form of negotiations.
"There are no negotiations, with Hamas," Regev insisted. "Israel and Egypt have a common interest in trying to maintain stability in the south. Israel cannot continue to tolerate the daily barrage of rockets, so either the attacks will cease or Israel will have to stop them. We don't have a great desire to escalate in the south, and if it is possible to achieve clam, that is obviously our preference, and the Egyptian's preference."
Government sources, meanwhile, said that Israel's insistence that Schalit be included in the deal - knowing Hamas would not agree - was a way to gracefully get out of an agreement that Israel is not enamored with. According to these sources, Israel is concerned that Hamas would use the cease fire to strengthen itself in Gaza, something Israel wants to prevent. According to the sources, conditioning the agreement on the release of Schalit is something the public would back.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, meanwhile, also told Suleiman that there would be no arrangements in Gaza as long as Schalit remained in captivity. She also stressed that there could not be quiet calm in the Gaza Strip until the arms smuggling and the Hamas weapons build-up ceased.
Suleiman also met Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai, from Shas, who has said he would be willing to meet with Hamas to secure Schalit's release.
Gaza missile kills a 70-year old Israeli woman in Moshav Yesha
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5261
She was on a family visit to Moshav Yesha south of Ofakim. Killed instantly by and exploding Qassam missile fired from Gaza which hit a house in the moshav, she was the second victim of Hamas missile attacks in four days.
Jimmy Kedoshim from Kibbutz Kfar Azza died after being struck by a Palestinian mortar last Friday, May 9. Over the weekend, more than 22 missiles were fired from Gaza. Early Monday, May 12, two Katyusha rockets were fired from Gaza at southern Ashkelon. One just missed a school, leaving several children in shock and damaging buildings. An alert sent town-dwellers diving for shelter.
Middle East on the brink of peace?
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=33674a3c-67bc-4fca-a3e5-83fe8ecec6bf&k=82559
The state of Israel was founded 60 years ago, and its history since has been one of warfare with neighbours, regional strife and, too often, international opprobrium.
Israel has faced five wars in the past six decades -- and in this anniversary year, many have wondered if the future of the beleaguered state promises any more security and safety than its past has delivered
But Sir Martin Gilbert, one of Britain's premier historians and longtime student of Israeli history, believes this is a uniquely promising time -- that the nation is on the brink of winning peace with a large part of the Palestinian people with whom it has disputed entitlement to the land on which it sits.
"I believe there is a new dynamic that seeks only peace for two peoples, a peace that Israelis and Palestinians have seemed on the brink of achieving several times -- and which, given enough will, may come now, and even quite soon."
Sir Martin, who is probably best known as the official biographer of Winston Churchill, has written about Israel and Jewish matters for four decades. He was in Ottawa this week to speak at the Ottawa International Writers Festival about the newly released second edition of his book, Israel: A History. The new edition includes two new chapters and an epilogue to cover events of the decade that has elapsed since the book was first published.
Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (the PA) nearly came to an agreement in 2000 at Camp David. Only last November, U.S. President George W. Bush convened 40 nations at the Annapolis Conference in Maryland, which marked the first time that a two-state solution was agreed upon as a solution to six decades of dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.
"Everyone -- the Israelis, the Palestinian Authority, the Americans, the Russians, the EU, the UN -- are all closely committed to it, and it's now just a matter of (Israeli president) Ehud Olmert and (PA president) Mahmoud Abbas coming to an agreement -- and they are 99.9 per cent of the way there," Sir Martin says.
Much of this has already been reported, but the public seems oddly skeptical that current developments will succeed any better than the myriad attempts of the past. Why is this so?
"Well, you have to remember that the media, for reasons of its own, is sometimes happier with a scrap, a fight, a confrontation, than with things more promising.
"But the people of the region don't have the luxury of saying, 'Oh no, not another plan, not another American absurdity.'
"They're living there, and they're trying to lead daily lives in difficult circumstances, and there are millions of them."
There are effectively already two states living side by side, Sir Martin points out.
"The Oslo Agreement gave the Palestinians autonomy, which is something short of full statehood, but look what they have on the ground, at least on the West Bank -- in Ramallah, you can go to the housing ministry, the education ministry, the welfare ministry. There is a postal system. Tens of thousands of civil servants are working. There are teacher training colleges.
"The only thing you don't have is the piece of paper, with signatures, saying, 'This is no longer autonomy, this is statehood.' And that piece of paper can easily be achieved, given the pragmatism and the determination of the negotiators on both sides."
Any such agreement would almost certainly not include the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is currently under the control of Hamas, an Islamist party dedicated to the destruction of Israel.
"And that is sad," Sir Martin says, "but meanwhile, the West Bank is quite large enough for the Palestinian Authority to establish a viable state.
"And then the people of Gaza can ask themselves: Do we want to share in the prosperity and the democracy of the West Bank system? Or do we want to carry on with wrapping ourselves more and more tightly in fundamentalism?"
The Palestinians of the West Bank are less inclined to fundamentalism than their Gazan brothers, he says. "They are more secular, much as most Jews of Israel are rather secular. They are not trying to impose religious law. They are a modern people -- moderate, educated and sophisticated -- who want a modern, viable state."
One cause for optimism is that Mr. Olmert and Mr. Abbas have developed respect for each other and are meeting regularly, as required by the Annapolis agreement, to iron out issues that are giving lower-level negotiators difficulty, Sir Gilbert says.
"When people get to know each other well, and feel each other out, I think you'll find a way forward."
Contacts between Israelis and Palestinians are occurring at all levels of society. There is now a joint Israeli-Palestinian Business Council set up by CEOs from Israel and the West Bank.
"I happen to know very well a Palestinian who has a business enterprise with an Israeli -- and they have a factory on the West Bank that's giving employment to many Palestinians and are exporting to many countries, including China. And they have no animosity, even though the Israeli is a reservist and so, in a sense, part of the Occupation.
"Again, this is an example of two peoples living together, cooperatively."
Sir Martin does not believe that Iran, currently believed
to be developing a nuclear weapons program and led by a stridently anti-Israeli president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will pose any great threat to the two-state solution.
"I think there is international unanimity that Iran is an international threat, which puts the country somewhat on the sidelines. Moreover, Israel and an eventual Palestinian state will be able to say, 'Sorry, but your fundamentalism is not for export here.'
"But they can say that only if they have their houses in order -- and in that sense, Iran may even be a catalyst to the process."
Two issues that have bedeviled all discussions between Israel and the Palestinians are the right of the 1948 refugees to return to the homes they lost, and the status of Jerusalem, which the Palestinians wish for their capital city.
These issues may no longer be impediments to an agreement, Sir Martin says. He claims it is accepted on both sides that no Palestinian would want to return to a city that has been Israeli for six decades. For example, Mr. Abbas was born in Safed, in northern Israel, but has no desire to live there again.
Some refugees will receive financial reparations, some living outside the West Bank -- in Lebanon, for example -- will be allowed to settle there, and some will be accepted by other countries, including Canada, who have expressed their willingness to take them.
The division of Jerusalem does not seem to be proving a difficult part of negotiations, Sir Martin says.
"Apart from some minuscule Jewish enclaves in Arab areas of the city, the two sides live in separate areas and there will be a Jewish West Jerusalem and an Arab East Jerusalem. The areas are compact and contiguous and the border will be easy to draw. The various complexities that come into the negotiations don't come in with regard to Jerusalem."
There are talks going on now with Syria over the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 war. Sir Martin says Israel is far less attached to the Heights than most people believe.
"The idea that without the Golan Heights Israel is militarily threatened is simply a bogeyman."
Former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin once took Sir Martin up to Carlucci Point, near the Lebanese border, the highest point in Israel and indisputably a part of the country, giving a good vantage from which to view the Golan Heights.
"With good artillery pieces up there, Israel could easily attack the Golan Heights if an attack was ever made from there, and so many Israeli politicians, contrary to what is generally believed, have no trouble giving up the Heights."
He believes Israel would accept any offer of peace that came from Syria.
"But this is hard for the Syrians -- their opposition has helped position them in a certain way in the Arab world, they now dominate Lebanon, and they would have to decide to become a different type of Syria, which would require a great leap of faith."
This new world in the Middle East requires only a few signatures. But that simple step has eluded world leaders many times. Is it really so much more plausible to have optimism now?
"As a historian, I don't talk much about the future -- but on these issues, I think I am not an optimist, but a realist."
Exclusive: Syria hardens positions, retracts peace feelers to Israel
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5260
DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources report that in the last 48 hours, Damascus has broadcast new, intransigent policy positions through diverse channels under the influence of Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert’s legal plight and the swift victories its ally, Hizballah, has achieved in Lebanon:
1. Leaders in Olmert’s position are only capable of making war – not peace, according to leaks from Damascus to Arab media. For this reason, Syrian officials claim after the fact that they exposed the secret meeting scheduled to take place between Israeli and Syrian officials in Turkey for sabotage, knowing it would go nowhere.
2. The Israeli prime minister’s offer to give up the whole of Golan for peace was likewise leaked by Damascus to discredit the prime minister at home.
3. Another message informed Jerusalem that any accommodation with Damascus was contingent on a peace deal with Beirut – or rather the real masters of Lebanon, Iran-backed Hizballah.
4. Israel must rescind the disputed Shebaa Farms enclave on Mount Hermon.
5. Syria’s relations with Iran are none of Israel’s business. This is a reference to the demands for the Assad regime to cool its ties with Tehran as a prerequisite for a peace deal.
6. As for the American-Israeli demand that Syria stop hosting terrorist headquarters, Damascus advises Israel to make do with the Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal’s last statement. He said that Hamas is prepared to accept - though not recognize - Israel within the pre-1967 war boundaries and offer a long-term informal truce. Syria finds nothing further to discuss with Israel on the subject of Hamas.
Hezbollah fighters pile pressure on Lebanon rivals
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/hezbollah.fighters.pile.pressure.on.lebanon.rivals/18716.htm
Hezbollah gunmen battled supporters of the government on Sunday on the fifth day of a campaign by the Iranian-backed group that has dealt a severe blow to Washington's allies in Lebanon.
The fighting in Aley, a town in the mountains overlooking the capital, and nearby villages killed at least eight people.
Hezbollah, which is also backed by Syria, and its allies have in recent days routed pro-government gunmen in Beirut in Lebanon's worst civil strife since the 1975-1990 civil war.
The drive by Hezbollah to take control of strategic locations has increased pressure on the governing coalition, supported by the United States and Saudi Arabia, to accept the opposition's terms for ending 18 months of political conflict.
Hezbollah and allied Druze fighters took control of several villages in the Aley area on Sunday, security sources said. Explosions and gunfire echoed across the pine-covered hills.
The clashes brought the death toll in five days of fighting across Lebanon to 53. At least 150 have been wounded.
Fighting eased and the army began to deploy after Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, whose supporters were fighting Hezbollah, asked a rival Druze leader allied to the Shi'ite group to mediate an end to the fighting.
The battles stopped for several hours, but the two sides clashed again in Mount Barook to the southeast shortly before midnight. Barook separates the Druze heartland of Shouf from the mainly Shi'ite southern end of the Bekaa Valley.
"COEXISTENCE MOST IMPORTANT"
"I tell my supporters that civil peace, coexistence and stopping war and destruction are more important than any other consideration," Jumblatt, a pillar of the U.S.-backed governing coalition, said in an appeal on LBC television.
Jumblatt's call for his Druze rival Talal Arsalan to mediate was a sign of how big a blow the coalition has been dealt by Hezbollah, a political group with a powerful guerrilla army.
The Druze, an offshoot of Islam, make up less than 10 percent of Lebanon's population but have traditionally wielded disproportionately large influence.
Arab League foreign ministers agreed at an emergency meeting in Cairo to send a mission to Beirut to help mediate an end to the Lebanese crisis, led by the Qatari prime minister.
"We want to rescue Lebanon," Arab League chief Amr Moussa told a news conference. He said the ministers condemned the use of violence to achieve political goals.
Lebanon's political stalemate turned violent on Wednesday after the government decided to try to move against a military communications network operated by Hezbollah, and sacked the head of security at Beirut airport, who is close to the group.
Hezbollah called the move a declaration of war, saying the network had played a key role in its war with Israel in 2006.
Hezbollah seized much of west Beirut on Friday, then pulled back to let the army take control of areas they had captured after the army overturned the government's decisions.
However, Hezbollah said it would maintain a campaign of civil disobedience until all its demands were met.
In particular, it wants explicit recognition that it can keep its weapons for use against Israel. It also demands veto power in any new government, and a new electoral law, before allowing the election to the presidency of army chief General Michel Suleiman, who both sides agree should fill the post.
CABINET TO MEET SOON
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said his cabinet would meet soon to decide on Hezbollah's demands, and on the army's request that the government annul this month's decisions altogether.
Hundreds of soldiers backed by armoured vehicles set up roadblocks in Beirut and took up positions on the streets of the mainly Muslim part of the capital.
There were no gunmen in sight but youths maintained barricades on some crucial roads, ensuring Beirut's air and sea ports remained closed.
The United States, which considers Hezbollah a terrorist group, a threat to Israel and a weapon in the hands of its arch-foe Iran, had welcomed the end of the Beirut fighting.
Iran blamed the United States and Israel for the escalation in Lebanon and said it backed an internal solution to the political deadlock.
The governing coalition accuses Hezbollah of seeking to restore the influence of neighbouring Syria, which was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in 2005.
Iran to Sue U.S., Britain in Connection With Mosque Explosion
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355136,00.html
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian state television says Tehran will file a lawsuit against the U.S. and Britain for allegedly supporting a group responsible for a mosque explosion last month that killed 14 people.
Monday's report quotes Iranian judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi as saying Tehran will pursue the case at an "international level" because the U.S. and Britain allegedly supported the group "politically and financially." Iranian officials have alternated over whether the April 12 blast in the southern city of Shiraz was an attack or an accident. Iranian officials said Thursday an unnamed group connected to the U.S. and Britain carried out the attack.
Iran has repeatedly accused both countries of backing groups to destabilize the government. They have denied the accusations.
Smuggling to Iran rife in dangerous Gulf waters
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/smuggling.to.iran.rife.in.dangerous.gulf.waters/18714.htm
Smugglers pile boxes high on their speedboats, covering them with tarpaulin before zipping off into the sunset on the short but dangerous journey across the strategic Strait of Hormuz from Oman to Iran.
They return in the early morning, their empty fibreglass boats ready to pick up more cargo at the small Gulf port of Khasab, in Oman's isolated northern peninsula of Musandam.
Trade with Iran is as ancient as the settlements overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, gateway for a third of the world's oil shipments. In 2005, Iran's police chief said some $6 billion worth of goods such as computer parts, tea or cigarettes were smuggled into the country each year from the Gulf.
Now, tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic have added new dangers to the age-old journey across the Strait of Hormuz.
The arrival of a second U.S. aircraft carrier in the Gulf in April raised fears that Washington was planning to strike Iran.
The U.S. military dismissed this idea but accuses Tehran of supporting Iraqi militias and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Washington also says Iran is seeking nuclear weapons under cover of an energy programme though Tehran rejects the charges.
The tension bubbles through the Gulf: this year, four encounters between patrolling U.S. ships and small boats, some described as Iranian by the Pentagon, exposed new risks of confrontation in the busy sea lanes.
But despite the dangers, smugglers on the Khasab route - used to circumventing Iranian import controls, high duties and bureaucracy at overstretched ports - say the money is too good to resist, especially given poor job prospects in Iran.
"The goods come from Dubai and we carry (them) illegally to Iran. The government of Iran does not know about us," said Ahmed, who has been making the daily journey to Iran's Qeshm island, some 40 km (25 miles) away, for three years.
"I am a driver. The boat is not mine. For each time, we get (300,000 rials). We go each day 2-3 times. The boss is in Iran," says Ahmed, who is from Afghanistan but lives in Iran.
TYRES AND NAPPIES
Smugglers say Iranian patrols take a million rials (56 pounds) a boat to turn a blind eye to cargoes ranging from Chinese shoes, to soft drinks, cigarettes, televisions, even hair removal wax.
Those who have failed to grease the right palms, or come across a zealous Iranian guard, often come under fire, forcing them to jettison their illicit cargo to avoid fines and jail.
In Oman, the exports go through the local customs house and the sultanate is even planning to build a free trade zone next to Khasab port as part of its efforts to diversify its economy away from oil.
Iranian officials say Iran's long sea and land borders make it hard to curb smuggling, but they are more worried about drugs coming in via Afghanistan and state-subsidized fuel going out.
Smugglers at Musandam say they sometimes bring in fuel, prawns or livestock from Iran, but the trade mostly highlights the way consumer goods - especially U.S. embargoed products like computers - enter the Islamic Republic via Gulf states.
The United States cut diplomatic ties with Iran and imposed trade restrictions after the Islamic revolution overthrew the U.S.-allied monarchy in 1979. Leading a drive to isolate Iran, Washington has tightened trade restrictions in recent months.
The United Nations Security Council has also imposed several rounds of sanctions on Iran for its nuclear programme.
All that has had little impact on Khasab, where the re-export trade is a major money-spinner in a small economy.
The old market of Khasab is known as the "Iranian souq", so dominated is it by import and export businesses dedicated to the re-export trade with Iran.
Many of the goods that end up on the smugglers' boats are imported from the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, which does its own roaring re-export trade with Iran. Dubai registered over $4 billion worth of non-oil re-export trade with Iran in 2006.
Tyres and babies' nappies are piled up in the part of Khasab port used by the Iranian boatmen, with a constant stream of pickup trucks ferrying goods onto the jetty.
"We take juice, tea or cigarettes every day," said one Omani taxi driver who was dropping off a consignment of soft drinks.
TENSE TIMES
Wiry, suntanned men from Afghanistan or Baluchis from Iran man over 70 boats moored in Khasab. The boats leave in groups of five or six, with two men to a vessel. Their aim is to get across the Gulf as fast as possible.
It takes less than 50 minutes to get to Qeshm island. A round to trip to the mainland takes under three hours, even in slower speedboats, the smugglers say.
But with so many vessels in the Gulf, through which 17 million barrels of oil pass each day, and with political tensions so high, any incident could quickly escalate.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet is based on the Gulf island of Bahrain. Eight countries are situated on the Gulf coast, their police, military and coastguard all crowding a busy commercial channel.
In January, the United States said five Iranian speedboats aggressively approached three U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf, and a radio message was received warning they could explode.
Iran said its boats were trying to identify the ships. Experts say the message may have come from a radio heckler known as "the Filipino monkey."
The smugglers leaving Khasab carry no radios. Most speak no English or Arabic anyway. If anything is curbing their trade, they say, it is economics rather than geopolitics.
Inflation in the UAE and beyond has eroded profits and the global rise in food prices is also pinching.
Of three trucks that once sold tea, snacks and toiletries to the smugglers in Khasab, one remains. The other two are boarded up, having been priced out of business by inflation.
"Before, there were many Iranians. Now, it is less," said Jaafar Zelabzi, an Indian who runs the still-open truck and accepts Iranian currency. "Prices in the UAE are too high."
Somali Christian Killed by Muslim Militants
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07174.shtml
(christiansunite.com) - David Abdulwahab Mohamed Ali (29), a convert to Christianity from Islam, was killed by Muslim militants on April 22 at approximately 4:30 p.m. in the Somali town of Baidawa, according to an April 29 report from International Christian Concern (www.persecution.org).
A cousin of Ali and two members of Al-Shabab, a militant Islamic organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda, were reportedly responsible for the murder. Ali, an evangelist who had helped to lead many to Christ, had been living in Ethiopia since 2000 and was in Somalia to visit family members.
Pray that those who mourn for Ali will rest in the knowledge that those who die in the Lord will be raised with Him (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). Pray that God will embolden Somali Christians to follow the example of those who were martyred for Him (Ephesians 4:1).
For more information on the persecution of Christians in Somalia, go to www.persecution.net/country/somalia.htm.
House Churches of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Attacked, 12 People Detained; Bibles and Christian Books Confiscated
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07173.shtml
INNER MONGOLIA, (christiansunite.com) -- CAA has learned that at 7 o'clock on May 1, 2008, 4 people from the Arong Qi Security and Religious Affairs Bureau, detained two house church ministers; Sun Chuan Min (27 years- old, from Gan He town, Inner Mongolia) and Sun Shi Ying (24 years-old, from Liu He village) Both were taken to the local police station. Security officials also confiscated a video camera, books, a washing machine, comforters, and food supplies belonging to the Daqing Church. All of the aforementioned items were taken without proper and legal documentation.
On May 4, 66 year-old Guo Jingtian, pastor of Arong Zhen Ge Er church of Yadong town, Inner Mongolia, was summoned to the Local Security Bureau and charged with holding an "illegal religious meeting." Security officials have sealed the church and prohibited the building from being used for meetings.
In yet another organized attack by Public Security Officials, a church meeting was raided by members of the Security Bureau and Officials from the Religious Affairs Bureau. Thirteen believers were arrested and detained from 8pm to 5am the next day. All bibles and kitchen utensils were confiscated without proper documentation. The believers were also threatened by the police officials.
Xinjiang- CAA has also learned that 10 people were arrested on April 23, 2008 during a House Church Worship Service. Officials illegally confiscated Bibles and Hymn books from the members. Fortunately, all 10 believers were released the same day. According to sources, the Security Officials responsible for the detainment are:
Li Gang- Captain of the National Security Group (Police ID number 062142), Huocheng city, Xinjiang Province
Li Jinliang- Police Official of Qing Shui He (Police ID number 062296).
To express your concern contact:
Chinese Embassy in The United States:
Ambassador: Mr. Zhou Wenzhong
Address: 2300 Connecticut Avenue, N. W.,
Washington D.C. 20008, U.S.A.
Tel: +001-202-3282500, 3282501, 3282502
Fax: +001-202-3282582
Email: chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
Police clamp down on Mongolian house churches
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/police.clamp.down.on.mongolian.house.churches/18628.htm
China Aid Association (CAA) has learned that officials from the Arong Qi Security and Religious Affairs Bureau detained two house church ministers last Thursday.
Sun Chuan Min, 27 from Gan He town, Inner Mongolia, and Sun Shi Ying, 24, from Liu He village, were taken to the local police station. Security officials also confiscated a video camera, books, a washing machine, comforters and food supplies belonging to the Daqing Church. All of the items were taken without proper and legal documentation, CAA said.
Last Sunday, 66 year-old Guo Jingtian, pastor of Arong Zhen Ge Er church of Yadong town, Inner Mongolia, was summoned to the Local Security Bureau and charged with holding an "illegal religious meeting". Security officials have sealed the church and prohibited the building from being used for meetings.
In another organised attack by Public Security Officials, a church meeting was raided by members of the Security Bureau and Officials from the Religious Affairs Bureau. Thirteen believers were arrested and detained from 8pm to 5am the next day. All Bibles and kitchen utensils were confiscated without proper documentation. The believers were also threatened by the police officials.
CAA has also learned that 10 people were arrested on April 23 during a house church worship service in Xinjiang. Officials illegally confiscated Bibles and hymn books from the members. Fortunately, all 10 believers were released the same day. According to sources, the Security Officials responsible for the arrests are Li Gang, Captain of the National Security Group in Huocheng city, Xinjiang Province, and Li Jinliang, Police Official of Qing Shui He.
Sounds Unheard: China Goes Religious?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355143,00.html
This morning buildings in Beijing, Bangkok, and Hanoi shook. It was a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and thousands are dead.
It could be said this was the second time in a week’s span the earth quaked in China. The first time was less dangerous and less dramatic — actually, most people in the West don’t even know it occurred.
But five days after the fact, the diplomatic reverberations of a historic concert performed by the China Philharmonic Orchestra inside the Vatican and in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI can still be heard in the halls of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, here in Rome, and in diplomatic offices around the world.
When a press representative contacted me about interviewing Chinese “maestro” Long Yu about his upcoming musical performance in the Vatican, I was incredulous. For almost 60 years official diplomatic ties between the Vatican and China have been broken. The Vatican’s many private and public criticisms of the Communist government for its continued infractions against human rights and against religious liberty in particular, have been rebuffed by Beijing as interference in the country’s internal affairs. The stickiest point of relations has been China’s insistence on appointing (or at least approving) its own Roman Catholic bishops.
Looking again at the interview invitation in my hand, I wondered what could have changed so quickly and quietly in the often frigid relationship. At this point, still no mention of the event was on the Pope’s public calendar. In fact, I found no trace of the upcoming event on the Internet —and the concert was less than two weeks away! Was this hastily planned? No way.
More importantly, I wondered why the Chinese government would now be interested in, and why the Vatican would agree to, such a show of mutual goodwill. I knew Pope Benedict had set as a major goal of his pontificate improving relations with China while not giving up on demands for religious liberty. Was this a sign of outright diplomatic success, no strings attached? Probably not. I also knew China was executing a full-court press in the arena of public opinion in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Games. Was Beijing trying to manipulate the Pope and his moral authority by getting the Vatican on its side? Maybe. Were the Pope and his collaborators aware of that possibility? Surely.
I accepted the interview offer with the goal of listening to the “maestro’s” point of view on all of these quandaries, knowing well his talking points would have only relative significance because of the close supervision of the Chinese government. We sat together in the lobby of his hotel, on the outskirts of Rome. His press representative — a man with a British accent — sat with us, mostly in attentive silence. I will leave to your own judgment the meaning and value of the following quotes from orchestra conductor, Long Yu, to whom I am grateful for the undeserved kindness he showed to me:
• “Obviously this is a purely music travel to the Vatican, but I do hope this travel brings a new future to both sides.”
• “I’m not a politician, so I don’t know if what we are doing is necessary for the Olympic Games, because what I am doing has nothing to do with politics. But I have a personal wish for both sides, it doesn’t matter, they should get a better understanding of each other. Misunderstanding makes us lose chances to move things forward.”
• “Sometimes people should understand China more, culturally and philosophically, from China’s side as well. This trip is purely a music trip, but this trip can probably, I hope, make some special meeting point for the future. It will bring people some things to think about, not just the standard of what we think of the other side.”
• “The whole story of how this came about starts about three years ago.” “We are very lucky to have the concert today.” “It is very complicated to say how it came about” “It’s hard to explain.”
• “People need to understand the generation of Chinese of today is different than when we were born in the 60s or 70s and it is different than the Chinese of tomorrow.”
• “People who are talking about things that need to change in China, I want them to come to China. They will see the past China is different than today’s China and the future China.” “Of course we have this or that problem, but the major part is that China is developing the country, not only economically.” “China is definitely going in the right direction.”
• “If you really think you want to discuss things about China, then come to China and talk to the people.” I don’t wan to say China is perfectly there, but everywhere has problems. We just need to be positive.”
The concert has come and gone. Now what?
I waited to write about this event until now because I needed the kind of perspective that comes only with time.
Before going on I must say, leaving all politics aside (a refreshing exercise), the music was brilliant. The orchestra’s execution of Mozart’s “Requiem” was flawless, at least to my untrained ear. Watching and listening to one hundred and fifty Chinese musicians interpret and sing explicitly religious and European music in the Vatican and in the presence of the strongest voice for global Christianity today could have made even the greatest of sceptics suspend judgment about the long term value of this event.
The choir sang in Latin, “Exaudi, exaudi orationem meam (Hear, hear my prayer).” And in the only Greek words preserved from the ancient liturgy, they pleaded melodiously, “Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison (Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy).” And then back to Latin, “Salva me, fons pietatis (Save me, o fount of mercy).”
Diplomatic maneuvers are more cumbersome to evaluate than the sound of music, but as long as we live in this valley of tears, I’m afraid its value cannot be ignored.
Here’s what went down:
At the end of the concert, Pope Benedict directed some words to the musicians, and to the “organizers” of the event. He notes three things in particular: 1) "the interest shown by your orchestra and choir in European religious music." 2) a special thought for those of your fellow citizens who share faith in Jesus and are united through a particular spiritual bond with the Successor of Peter." And most poignantly, 3) I send my greetings, through you, to all the people of China as they prepare for the Olympic Games, an event of great importance for the entire human family."
Pope Benedict XVI had no obligation to mention the Olympics. He did so willingly. In the context of his general approach to diplomacy and dialogue, I think he is sending this message: the best way to get China to open itself to the world (and to human rights and religious liberty), is for the world to open itself to the Chinese people, while never failing to use the new overture to speak the truth in love. Notice in this vein how his words about the Olympics are directed not to the government host, but rather to “the people of China as they prepare for the Olympic Games, an event of great importance for the entire human family.” I am sure many millions of Chinese who watched the concert (widely promoted by the government), whether Christian or Communist, are now friends of Benedict. Neither a small nor insignificant feat! Will they now begin to read his writings? I hope so.
The friendly Vatican hand of hospitality which reached out to China received immediate promises of diplomatic payback. Spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, Qin Gang, recently issued a statement to the press qualifying the concert as “a big success” and saying China is now willing to improve relations with the Vatican. In his own words, “we would like to further conduct constructive dialogue with the Vatican based on relative principles so as to push bilateral ties toward normalization.”
Normalization would suggest reform — a better life for Christians in China.
Time will tell whether music and sport can do the work of politicians.
What’s your guess?
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